Decreased risk of renal cell carcinoma in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors.

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are at a higher risk of developing renal cell carcinoma (RCC) than the general population. In vitro and in vivo investigations of the effects of sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2I) have shown a significantly reduced risk of RCC. However, the impact of these drugs on the incidence of RCC in the human population is unclear.

Noninvasive cardiac radioablation for ventricular tachycardia: dosimetric comparison between linear accelerator- and robotic CyberKnife-based radiosurgery systems.

Background: Few dosimetric comparisons have been published between linear accelerator (LA)-based systems and CyberKnife (CK)-based robotic radiosurgery systems for cardiac radio-ablation in ventricular tachycardia. This study aimed to compare the dosimetry of noninvasive cardiac radio-ablation deliverable on LA with that on CK.

Methods: Thirteen patients who underwent noninvasive cardiac radio-ablation by LA were included.

Risk of systemic autoimmune diseases with antiarrhythmic drugs in arrhythmia patients: A retrospective cohort study.

Aim: The risk factors for systemic autoimmune disease (SAD)s with antiarrhythmic drug(AAD)s in arrhythmia patients are still unclear. This study was discussed this risk factors for SADs with AADs in arrhythmia patients.

Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort design and analyzed this relationship in an Asian population.

Recognition of Postoperative Cystography Features by Artificial Intelligence to Predict Recovery from Postprostatectomy Urinary Incontinence: A Rapid and Easy Way to Predict Functional Outcome.

Purpose: Post-operative cystography has been used to predict the recovery of postprostatectomy urinary incontinence (PPI) in patients with localized prostate cancer. This study aimed to validate the predictive value of cystography for PPI and utilize a deep learning model to identify favorable and unfavorable features. Methods: Medical records and cystography images of patients who underwent robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer were retrospectively reviewed.

Hypnotics Use Is Associated with Elevated Incident Atrial Fibrillation: A Propensity-Score Matched Analysis of Cohort Study.

We aimed to investigate the association between either or both of benzodiazepines (BZDs) and non-BZDs and the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database. The participants with at least two prescriptions of BZDs and/or non-BZDs were identified as hypnotics users, whereas those without any prescription of hypnotics were non-hypnotics users. The hypnotics and non-hypnotics cohorts were 1:1 matched on their propensity scores.

A Coronary Artery Disease Monitoring Model Built from Clinical Data and Alpha-1-Antichymotrypsin.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the most common subtypes of cardiovascular disease. The progression of CAD initiates from the plaque of atherosclerosis and coronary artery stenosis, and eventually turns into acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or stable CAD. Alpha-1-antichymotrypsin (AACT) has been highly associated with cardiac events.

Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation Technique Improves Nurse-Physician Communication and Patient Satisfaction in Cataract Surgeries.

Background: Implementation of the Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (SBAR) communication technique has been shown to increase nurse-physician communication and collaboration. However, data regarding its implementation in ophthalmology settings are limited.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of implementing SBAR on nurse-physician communication and on the safety and satisfaction of patients undergoing cataract surgery.

Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Electrocardiogram Predicted Left Ventricle Diameter as an Independent Risk Factor of Long-Term Cardiovascular Outcome in Patients With Normal Ejection Fraction.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a global disease with increasing prevalence in an aging society. However, the survival rate is poor despite the patient receiving standard treatment. Early identification of patients with a high risk of HF is important but challenging.

Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Electrocardiography Predicts Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Future Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Retrospective Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The ejection fraction (EF) provides critical information about heart failure (HF) and its management. Electrocardiography (ECG) is a noninvasive screening tool for cardiac electrophysiological activities that has been used to detect patients with low EF based on a deep learning model (DLM) trained via large amounts of data. However, no studies have widely investigated its clinical impacts.

ProDisc-C versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for the surgical treatment of symptomatic cervical disc disease: two-year outcomes of Asian prospective randomized controlled multicentre study.

Purpose: Our study aimed to evaluate non-inferiority of ProDisc-C to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in terms of clinical outcomes and incidence of adjacent segment disease (ASD) at 24-months post-surgery in Asian patients with symptomatic cervical disc disease (SCDD).

Methods: This multicentre, prospective, randomized controlled trial was initiated after ethics committee approval at nine centres (China/Hong Kong/Korea/Singapore/Taiwan). Patients with single-level SCDD involving C3-C7-vertebral segments were randomized (2:1) into: group-A treated with ProDisc-C and group-B with ACDF.

A mask R-CNN based automatic assessment system for nail psoriasis severity.

Nail psoriasis significantly impacts the quality of life in patients with psoriasis, which affects approximately 2-3% of the population worldwide. Disease severity measures are essential in guiding treatment and evaluation of therapeutic efficacy. However, due to subsidy, convenience and low costs of health care in Taiwan, doctor usually needs to manage nearly hundreds of patients in single outpatient clinic, leading to difficulty in performing complex assessment tools.

Ouabain Suppresses Cell Migration and Invasion in Human Gastric Cancer AGS Cells Through the Inhibition of MMP Signaling Pathways.

Background/aim: Ouabain has been shown to induce human cancer cell death via apoptosis. Still, its anti-metastatic effect on cell migration and invasion of human gastric cancer cells has not been addressed.

Materials And Methods: Cell proliferation and viability were measured by the MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively.

Mycelium Prevents Paracetamol-Induced Hepatotoxicity through Regulating the MAPK/NF-κB, Keap1/Nrf2/HO-1, TLR4/PI3K/Akt, and CaMKKβ/LKB1/AMPK Pathways and Suppressing Oxidative Stress and Inflammation.

Liver damage induced by paracetamol overdose is the main cause of acute liver failure worldwide. In order to study the hepatoprotective effect of mycelium (SS) on paracetamol-induced liver injury, SS was administered orally every day for 6 days in mice before paracetamol treatment. SS decreased serum aminotransferase activities and the lipid profiles, protecting against paracetamol hepatotoxicity in mice.

Peri-radiosurgical administration of bevacizumab improves radiographic response to single and fractionated stereotactic radiosurgery for large brain metastasis.

Introduction: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a standard of care for brain metastases (BM) patients, yet large BM are at a greater risk for radionecrosis and local progression (LP). Concomitant bevacizumab and radiotherapy has been shown to improve outcomes in primary and metastatic brain tumors. This retrospective study investigated the efficacy and safety of concurrent bevacizumab and SRS for large BM.

Genistein enhances the effects of L-asparaginase on inducing cell apoptosis in human leukemia cancer HL-60 cells.

Genistein (GEN) has been shown to induce apoptotic cell death in various human cancer cells. L-asparaginase (Asp), a clinical drug for leukemia, has been shown to induce cell apoptosis in leukemia cells. No available information concerning GEN combined with Asp increased the cell apoptosis compared to GEN or Asp treatment alone.

Maslinic Acid Induces DNA Damage and Impairs DNA Repair in Human Cervical Cancer HeLa Cells.

Background/aim: Maslinic acid, a natural plant-derived triterpenoid compound, exhibits pharmacological activities, including anti-cancer. In the present study, we investigated the cytotoxic effects of maslinic acid on human cervical cancer HeLa cells in vitro and further investigated the molecular mechanism of maslinic acid-induced DNA damage and repair.

Materials And Methods: Cell viability was measured by flow cytometry.

Mobile App (UPrEPU) to Monitor Adherence to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis in Men Who Have Sex With Men: Protocol for a User-Centered Approach to Mobile App Design and Development.

Background: Daily and on-demand pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been well demonstrated to effectively prevent HIV acquisition for men who have sex with men (MSM). More than half of the MSM PrEP users in Taiwan prefer on-demand PrEP; however, on-demand PrEP involves a complicated dosing regimen because it requires precoital and postcoital dosing and sex events are hard to anticipate. Although there are a growing number of mobile apps designed to improve access to HIV prevention services and HIV medication adherence, few mobile apps focus on adherence to PrEP or are designed to accommodate a complicated, on-demand PrEP dosing schedule.

Association between statin use and osteoporotic fracture in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a population-based, matched case-control study.

Background: In the recent years, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been found to be associated with a higher risk of new-onset osteoporotic fracture (NOF). However, the existence of such an association in the COPD patients receiving statin treatment remains unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the association between COPD and NOF in statin-treated patients.